by Jana Downs
“Don’t tease,” Jude whimpered. “Please, Logan.”
“Slick?”
He motioned to the dresser. “Drawer.”
“Condoms there as well?”
There was a long pause, and the bottom fell out of Logan’s stomach. “You do have condoms, right?”
“My bedroom is not a revolving door,” Jude said, frustration lacing his words. “Do you not have one in your wallet?”
“Um, no,” Logan muttered. “I’m well past the attitude that random hookups could happen at any moment.”
Jude bit into his bottom lip. “Shifters don’t carry human diseases, right?”
The way the question was asked had Logan’s eyebrows shooting skyward. “No, we don’t. However, we carry this weird virus called Lycanthropy. So unless you want to turn furry, that’s out.”
“I thought only a mate bond could trigger the virus to enter the semen?” Jude asked, a frown marring his beautiful face. His eyes widened as Logan said nothing, waiting for him to piece it together. “Oh… you feel…”
“Yeah,” Logan answered. “My animal has been all about mating you since the second you sat your beautiful ass in the chair across from me at Eclipse.”
Jude sighed. “Well, I guess we need to go find a condom.”
“Um, yeah, seems that way.” He was so embarrassed he could’ve happily had a hole open up under him and swallow him whole. He scratched the back of his neck.
“Or you could just take me.” The whispered suggestion made Logan start.
“Jude, you don’t know what you’re asking-”
“We’re mates, right? So why does it matter?” Jude interrupted, reaching down and stroking his cock while staring up at Logan. “I want you so bad, Logan.”
Logan shuddered as his animal almost won out and he threw caution to the wind. He put a restraining hand on Jude’s stroking fist. “I told you I’d respect you, always. I meant that. You don’t know what you’re asking. Just because my animal claims you doesn’t mean that we’ll work out or that you’ll even be happy with me. Besides, to be a shifter isn’t as sunshine and roses as you seem to think it is.” He rolled to the side and caught sight of a flash of neon yellow on the floor in their piles of clothes. He reached down and picked it up. Jude must’ve gotten it from the idiotic bigot outside the club. He held it up. “See? This is what you have to look forward to as a shifter.” The words “The Shape-shifter Agenda: Destroying America, Destroying our Families” was emblazoned in black, bold letters at the top of the pamphlet. “This is what you get to look forward to as a shifter.” He didn’t explain how hurtful it was to be targeted for something he couldn’t help. He’d been born this way, after all. Jude didn’t need a lecture.
“I don’t care,” Jude protested. The hunger in his voice was stark. All humans had the potential to shift, but it took the addition of the X1Y1 virus to bring out their animals. It seemed like Jude was closer to his base instincts than most. He would make a good shifter. He listened to his deeper instincts. However, Logan just couldn’t do that to him this second.
“Hmm, I’ll make you feel good, and then I’ll go grab some condoms from the convenience store, okay? We can do other things than have sex right this second.” He reached out and tweaked one of Jude’s nipples, causing it to peak. “Besides, we have all night, sweet.”
That seemed to mollify him somewhat. He hesitated for the barest second before nodding his assent. “I want to make you feel good, too.”
Logan chuckled. “Then let’s do it.” He leaned over without preamble and sucked the head of Jude’s cock into his mouth.
Jude’s head thrashed from side to side and a surprised cry of pleasure issued from his throat. The first taste of Jude’s pre-cum came with a dose of fear. Logan’s animal rose up and tore down his human defenses, demanding that they taste Jude’s essence and now. He bobbed his head, hollowing out his cheeks and sucking like it was the last thing he was ever going to do.
“Logan!” Jude cried out, spreading his legs wider to accommodate Logan’s wider shoulders. Logan reached over and snatched the lube. He somehow managed to get the top off without stopping the blow job he was giving. He pressed a finger to the tight entrance of Jude’s backside, and the other man nearly came unglued.
“God, yes!”
Logan pushed the rest of the way inside, finger fucking him in time with the bobs of his head. He added another finger, and Jude screamed for more. Logan’s head was swimming with a pheromone-induced ecstasy. He’d known that having relations with one’s mate was an intoxicating experience, but this went beyond what he’d imagined it would be. He was going to come without even touching himself if it kept up at this pace.
Three fingers spread Jude’s body, and the scent of his lover’s increasing lust was overpowering. The boy was his, and his animal wouldn’t accept any other thought on the subject. Maybe if I just fuck him and then pull out… No. He banished the thought as the animal offered the suggestion. He knew better. There was no way he’d be able to pull out at the last minute. He would knot and bury his spunk in his lover’s tight ass before he could resist the temptation. He’d probably bite the boy for good measure. His mouth watered at the thought.
Jude cried out a second later, his liquid pleasure bursting into Logan’s seeking mouth with each subsequent cry. Logan swallowed him down, growling at the taste of his mate. His mind drifted off as his cock demanded some kind of satisfaction. Without thinking he surged between Jude’s legs, his arousal poised over Jude’s spent prick. He rested his weight on one arm and took his cock in hand with the other, staring into Jude’s pleasure-soaked gaze as he jerked himself off.
“Mine,” he snarled, his animal coming out in his voice. Jude looked rapt as Logan continued fisting his dick. “Say it.” The command was out of his mouth before he could halt the aggression that was boiling up. He should’ve just waited. His animal was way too possessive to put the brakes on at this point.
“Yours,” Jude said breathlessly. “Yours.”
Logan groaned as spunk splashed Jude’s exposed cock and balls, emptying from Logan’s organ in a soothing wash. The knot he knew would form swelled in his palm, making the orgasm that much sharper. Animal noises of satisfaction and pleasure worked their way out of his throat as the knowledge that his scent would cling to Jude’s skin sank into his primitive mind.
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, some of his higher function returned. He panted for breath, a little embarrassed for having lost his mind for the past ten minutes. He’d never felt that out of control with a lover before.
He opened his mouth to apologize only for Jude to lean up and press a kiss to his mouth. Everything in Logan relaxed. His lover wasn’t weirded out by his display. He opened his mouth to admit the seeking tongue pressing on his lips, and their tongues danced as he came down from his high.
They kissed until their breathing had resumed a normal rhythm, and then Jude broke the kiss. “I’m buying stock in a condom company tomorrow,” he said, tracing the line of Logan’s nose. “If oral sex is this good, I am going to die when we actually fuck.”
“Just make sure the condoms are shifter friendly,” Logan joked, floating in a world of pure bliss. The condoms had to be able to accommodate a shape-shifter’s anatomy since most canine shifters knotted and most cats had barbs even in human form. Some of the odder shifters did even weirder stuff, but he didn’t pay much attention to their obscure anatomies. He just knew that if the condom didn’t have a circled S on the package, it would most likely break if he used it.
He pulled back, pushing himself back to his knees between Jude’s legs. He winced at the mess he’d made of Jude. He was smeared with cum. “Sorry about that. Let’s get you in the shower.”
“God, don’t apologize. That was hot. I’ve never felt so…” Jude paused, searching for a word. “Claimed. I’ve never felt so claimed.”
Some humans didn’t like the possessive natures that came with most shifters. Logan was intense
ly glad Jude was the exception. He smiled. “So you like?”
“Like? I’m never letting you out of my bed,” Jude joked. “Ever.” On a more serious note, he added, “I like you, Logan. A lot.”
Logan’s insides became goo at the admission. “I really like you, too, Jude.” At least he didn’t have to worry about admitting later that he knew Jude was his mate. He wanted to be as honest as possible with him.
“We’re really mates?” Jude asked, echoing his thoughts.
Logan nodded. “Yes. My animal claims you’re our one and only.” He knew how corny that sounded, but he didn’t know how else to describe it. “I mean, until we’re fully mated, it’s not a solidified thing. But the potential is there.” Jude would be able to walk away at any time without consequence so long as Logan didn’t spill his spunk inside him. Once they shared the same virus strain and Jude turned, it would be much harder to break the bond. It would hurt either way to Logan, but he didn’t say that. It was an unfair burden to settle a new lover with.
“I want this to work,” Jude said, half sitting up.
“Me, too, sweet. Me, too.”
Chapter Three
Jude showered while Logan went to get condoms. His body felt alive, energized for the first time in what felt like forever. He hadn’t really considered the possibility that he would end up as the mate of the first shifter sHarmony set him up with. But he supposed that was the point of this process. The revelation should’ve been at least a little disturbing, but it wasn’t. It felt right, and it explained why their connection had felt so instantaneous. He wasn’t ready to break out the champagne and announce their mating quite yet, but it was nice to know that this wasn’t just a fling, that it had the potential for so much more.
He grabbed the soap and smoothed it over his skin, washing away the proof of Logan’s very vocal ownership from a few minutes ago. “The guys are never going to believe this,” he muttered to himself as his body flushed hot and then cold at the thought of being taken by Logan. He couldn’t believe he’d been so willing to throw himself down the rabbit hole of shifting like he had been. He was going to blame his out-of-control hormones for it, but that wasn’t really an excuse. In that moment, he hadn’t cared about the consequences of what letting Logan fuck him would be. He shook his head.
Logan had been right. He had to consider everything before he made that sort of decision. He was just grateful that the shifter had been the levelheaded responsible one. I’ll respect you. Always. The words warmed him. He could see himself falling easily for Logan. It was almost too easy to picture.
The bathroom door opened, and he raised his head. “Logan?”
“Just letting you know I’m back,” Logan said from outside the stall.
He bit his bottom lip. “You want to come in here with me?”
There was a long pause on the other side, and Jude started to doubt that he had read him right. After all, some guys just weren’t into the intimate moments post coitus. “I’d love to, sweet. I just don’t trust myself right now,” Logan admitted. “My animal is kind of straining the metaphysical leash right now.”
“Aww, he likes me.” Jude usually used humor when the situation got too emotionally tense in order to lighten the mood. He sensed Logan’s apologetic mindset and wanted to reassure him that he wasn’t weirded out by his differences.
Logan chuckled. “Yes he does.”
“How often can shifters have sex?” Jude asked. He was hard again already and was more than ready for round two if Logan could swing it.
“Whenever you want it, sweet. My cock won’t turn off with you.” The low rumble of want in the other man’s voice went straight to Jude’s already-hard length.
“Then get in here with one of your damn condoms and bring the lube.” Jude wasn’t normally this aggressive in the bedroom. Of course he hadn’t ever felt the depth of this much need before either.
A low growl sounded on the other side of the frosted glass, and almost immediately after, the sound of rustling bags and fabric filled the air. Anticipation filled him. Finally. Maybe when he had Logan he could turn off this insane impulse to hump his leg like a bitch in heat.
The shower door opened, and Logan stepped into the steamy interior of his shower. The place was plenty big enough for the two of them and even had dual shower heads so they could both shower off after. The white tiled interior was one of his favorite places in the house, and now, with Logan in it, he liked it even more. Logan’s eyes, like when he’d jerked off on Jude’s prick earlier, were glowing with a feral light, the blue of his irises turning an unreal shade of cerulean.
“Logan,” Jude whispered, suddenly nervous all over again. “You don’t think I’m a slut, do you?”
Logan shook his head. “Never, sweet. I know you’re not.” His eyes traveled down Jude’s body, and Jude’s prick strained upward, waving for attention. “You are yielding to your instincts just like I am. Sometimes the primitive sides of ourselves know best, don’t you think?”
Relief washed through Jude’s stomach. Yes. That was exactly right. He took two steps forward and wrapped his arms around Logan’s neck to drag his head down for another kiss. He hadn’t realized it before, but he’d been looking for this connection in every relationship he’d ever had.
He reached between their bodies, anxious to fist the magnificent cock he’d palmed early, only to encounter latex. Logan had apparently already put on the condom. Logan growled, and the sound skittered along Jude’s nerve endings, making him shiver.
Without preamble, Logan whipped him around so that he was facing the spray away from Logan. A tap on his shoulder made him lean forward, and then Logan’s fingers were once again probing his entrance. Jude groaned, unwilling and unable to hold back the noises that Logan aroused in him. He had never been so comfortable with a lover.
Two fingers stretched him, fingering him and reawakening the nerve endings that had been touched before. Luckily, Logan’s earlier administrations had stretched him somewhat, and the process went quickly. He rocked back on his knuckles as three digits spread him.
“Fuck me, please,” he pleaded, needing to feel Logan inside him.
Without warning, Logan jerked his fingers free and replaced them with the head of his cock. The noises coming out of his mouth were almost animal, and Jude found them sexy as hell. He loved that he could reduce this big, noble man to an animal intent on nothing but fucking him stupid. Jude gritted his teeth at the incredible stretch. He’d seen Logan’s prick earlier and had been impressed with his size, but it hadn’t registered that it would all be going inside him. The water beat down on his back as his rested his hands on the wall, breathing through the initial burn. It had been a long time.
More slick was added. “You okay?” Logan asked, his voice almost unrecognizable.
“Yeah,” he panted, pushing back to take him deeper. His body finally relaxed, and Logan slid deep. Something clicked into place, and it was like he was no longer just aware of Logan but like Logan had finally taken up residence in some deeper sphere of connection that went beyond the physical.
He moved with Logan, their flesh slapping together and echoing off the tile walls as the water poured over the both of them. With every lunge of his hips, Logan scored a new pleasure spot, commanding Jude’s body into ever higher realms of pleasure. “Logan, god, Logan.” He babbled his lover’s name, begging him to take him harder, faster, to never stop.
Logan gave a guttural roar and stiffened behind him. Something swelled in Jude’s depths. The sensation threw Jude headlong into orgasm, his cock jerking and spilling its contents on the floor as they rocked together. Jude’s pleasure stretched on, becoming almost unbearable as the minutes passed. He thrashed and squirmed against Logan’s hold, hating and loving the sensation his lover inspired in him. Logan held him tight, not letting him thrash too much.
“Easy, sweet,” he murmured. “It’ll be okay. It’ll pass.” He shuddered again, groaning. It eased after a few more seconds. “Damn
multiple Os.” The grumbled statement would’ve been funny had Jude not understood exactly what he was talking about. The intensity of the pleasure was almost too much. Some strange feral part of him felt gypped that he couldn’t feel the full effects of Logan’s orgasm, but Jude banished the thought. This had been damn near perfect.
Finally, Logan pulled back, slipping from clutching confines of Jude’s body. Jude stayed were he was, unable to trust his legs to hold him up. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Logan. The man’s eyes were still glowing, but they were starting to fade back to their normal blue. His teeth were just visible where fangs touched his bottom lip.
“Sorry,” Logan said as he caught him looking. “The fangs don’t usually happen. It’s the mating thing.” It was weird how embarrassed he got when he expressed a shifter part of himself. Jude just didn’t get it. Logan was one of the most handsome, intriguing guys he’d ever met.
Jude licked his lips. “I think it’s beautiful.”
Logan’s expression softened. “Thanks.”
“So if you mate me, you nibble on me with those bad boys?”
Logan nodded. “Yeah. I would fuck you and bite you. The scar would show that you were taken, and then your scent would change.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “It would be like our scents blended together.” His eyes popped back open. “At least that’s how I have heard it.” He pulled Jude up and cradled him against his chest. Jude let his eyes slide shut, grateful to lean against his lover.
“How can anyone hate you?” he whispered, remembering the hateful pamphlet Logan had pulled from his pocket earlier.
Logan shrugged. “People find it easy to hate what they don’t understand.”
“Yeah, well, they’re stupid bigots.” He’d never really thought about shifter issues because he’d never really interacted with a lot of shifters, but he’d always been of the mind that hating any group for a certain characteristic was wrong. He’d just never been confronted with the full impact before. “I won’t let those stupid people hurt you.”